A suicide bombing during the U.S.-led evacuations at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan killed at least 13 U.S. service members, including two Southern California natives.
Lance Corporal Kareem Mae'Lee Grant Nikoui of Norco and Corporal Hunter Lopez of Riverside were killed on Thursday.
Military officials have not yet released the names of those who died, but locals have begun to publicly mourn.
In a Facebook post, Norco issued a statement honoring Nikoui. According to the post, Nikoui graduated from Norco High School in 2019. He “was committed to serving his country and is survived by his mother, father and siblings.”
The city will add Nikoui’s name to the “Lest We Forget Wall” at the George A. Ingalls Veterans Memorial Plaza, which honors service members who died in action.
Nikoui’s father, Steve Nikoui, told the Daily Beast that Nikoui had been stationed at Camp Pendleton and loved being a Marine. During the holidays, Nikoui would bring other Marines back to his family’s home in Norco.
“My wife and I felt very honored that [since] these other boys weren’t around their homes, that we were able to provide some sort of family life for them,” he said. “He really loved that [Marine Corps] family. He was devoted—he was going to make a career out of this, and he wanted to go. No hesitation for him to be called to duty.”
Lopez was the son of Riverside Deputy Sheriff Alicia Lopez and Riverside Sheriff's Captain Herman Lopez.
Lopez was 22 at the time of his death and planned to become a sheriff’s deputy after he returned from his deployment, according to a statement from the Riverside Sheriff's Association.
“We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Hunter, who chose to follow a life of service, selflessness, courage and sacrifice, like his parents. Hunter was a Riverside Sheriff's Explorer Scout with the Palm Desert Station from September 2014 to August 2017,” read the statement.
The statement continued, “Like his parents who serve our community, being a Marine to Hunter wasn't a job; it was a calling. He loved his family, and as we grieve for Hunter and his fellow Marines taken from us too soon, there are simply no words to express how deeply he will be missed -- Semper Fi.”
Shortly after the attack on Thursday, President Joe Biden issued a message to the perpetrators behind the bombing, “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”
Biden also told the families of those who died, “My heart aches for you.”